JP2005193234A - Distribution head capable of being locked - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a distribution head capable of being attached to every kinds of pumps according to the quantity of a product to be sprayed. <P>SOLUTION: The distribution head (30) is loaded in a vessel (10) and is provided with: a pump (20) provided with an operation rod having a vertical axis X and loaded in the vessel; a diffuser (40) extending along an axis Y different from the axis X, provided with a pipe (44) opened through a distribution orifice (45) and loaded on the pump; a lever arm (50) having a part (55) pressing the diffuser by being in contact with the diffuser to work the pump and for controlling the work of the pump; and a locking member (70) designed so that the pump is worked at a 1st position and the work of the pump is disturbed at a 2nd position by bringing a part of the locking member into contact with the pipe (44) to disturb the movement of the lever arm. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a dispensing head attached to a device for storing and dispensing products, in particular cosmetic products. Such products are distributed in particular in the form of creams, gels, foams or sprays.

  “Cosmetics product” means a product defined in Council Directive 93/35 / EEC dated 14 June 1993 that amends the 6th Directive 76/768 / EEC.

  In general, the dispensing head contemplated by the present invention is designed to be attached to a container for containing the product to be dispensed and a receiving and dispensing device with a dispensing member at one open end. Such a dispensing member may be a pump or valve mounted on the dispensing head. This type of dispensing head can deliver product from the container to the dispensing orifice, and also allows the operation of the dispensing member to be controlled so that a certain amount of product is discharged from the container.

  In certain applications, such as spraying relatively viscous products such as milk or oil, a pre-compression pump is necessary so that a good quality spray can be made, especially of fine particles. However, such pumps are relatively difficult to operate with simple push buttons. For this reason, in order to facilitate the operation, it is conceivable to use a dispensing head with a trigger that acts as an arm of a lever for pushing the push button.

  The use of protective caps is known to prevent accidental actuation of the dispensing head. However, a dispensing head with a lever arm is relatively cumbersome and difficult to cover with a cap.

  For example, Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose a dispensing head having a trigger equipped with a safety device that prevents an infant from operating. However, the dispensing heads disclosed therein are of the “trigger” type. In other words, the pump is completely contained in the dispensing head with the trigger and cannot be separated from the head. Thus, if, for example, it is desired to change the pump in order to dispense a product in different quantities, the entire dispensing head must be replaced and a head with a pump capable of dispensing the desired quantity must be selected. In addition, the trigger looks bad and the design is not wide.

  Furthermore, the safety device described in the above patent document is not practical. The safety device comprises an open ring that can be detachably mounted on the trigger. There is therefore a risk that the ring will be easily separated from the trigger and lost. The other open end of the ring is provided with a protrusion that contacts the end of the trigger and prevents the ring from moving in the locked position. By accommodating this protrusion in a groove provided at the rear of the trigger, the ring is fixed so as not to rotate at the lock position. Therefore, in order to release the trigger and make it operable, the protrusion must be moved by lifting the trigger in the opposite direction of operation and then rotating the ring. Similarly, to prevent the head from moving, it is necessary to lift the trigger and rotate the ring to the position where the protrusion on the ring is aligned with the trigger using only the reference mark as a mark, Not practical.

  Patent Document 3 discloses a distribution head having a trigger provided with a ring-shaped lock member. The ring surrounds a portion of the diffuser that is mounted in a sleeve on the actuating rod of the pump and can rotate around this portion of the diffuser between a locked position and a use position. The upper part of the diffuser extending coaxially with the operating rod is provided with a protrusion that contacts the ring in the locked position and can move in a groove provided on the inner surface of the ring in the used position.

Patent Documents 4 and 5 disclose another type of locking device provided in a dispensing head having a trigger. The locking devices disclosed in these patent documents are small rods that prevent their activation by blocking the trigger in the locked position.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,373,644 U.S. Pat. No. 4,441,633 European Patent 1317963 JP-A-10-99745 JP-A-9-57161

  Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide a dispensing head that does not have the disadvantages of the prior art.

  In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide a dispensing head that can be attached to any kind of pump, depending on the product to be sprayed, in particular depending on the quantity of product to be sprayed.

  It is also an object of the present invention to produce such a dispensing head that has a unique appearance, is simple to use and can be manufactured at low cost.

  It is a further object of the present invention to provide a dispensing head that can prevent accidental operation of the pump to be controlled.

  A further object is to provide a dispensing head that can spray a product with relatively high viscosity without requiring excessive force to operate the head and maintain a good quality spray. .

The present invention
-A pump comprising an actuating rod having a longitudinal axis X and mounted in a container;
-A diffuser mounted on the pump with a tube extending along an axis Y different from the axis X and opening through a distribution orifice;
A lever arm that has a part that can contact the diffuser and press the diffuser to operate the pump, and that controls the operation of the pump; and-enables the pump to operate in the first position, and in the second position, The present invention relates to a dispensing head that is provided on a container and includes a ring-shaped locking member designed to prevent the pump from being operated by a part of the locking member coming into contact with the tube and preventing its movement.

  With such a head, which has a diffuser mounted directly on the pump and a lever arm mounted on the diffuser, the standard pump should only be used with a diffuser, unlike the trigger provided on the head that fully houses the pump Is even more possible. Thus, the head can be used for different standard pump models, for example different volumes of pump depending on the product to be dispensed. In particular, by using a pre-compression pump, a product having a relatively high viscosity, such as oil or milk, can be sprayed in a high quality spray form.

  Various designs can be used to manufacture this type of head, especially since the shape of the diffuser and / or lever arm can be selected.

  Furthermore, the use of the lever arm limits the force required to operate the pump, thus improving the ease of use.

  Finally, the presence of the locking member prevents accidental operation of the pump.

  The locking member can be a rotationally operable ring that at least partially surrounds the diffuser, the ring having at least one upper edge that contacts the tube in a second position of the ring. Also, the upper edge of the ring can be provided with a recess that forms a notch that presses the diffuser at the first position of the ring. In particular, when the ring is in the first position, the tube is located above the ring and is aligned vertically with the notch.

  The ring may be provided with at least one tab extending radially outwardly of the ring, preferably two tabs that are diametrically opposite each other on the ring. With such one or two tabs, the rotating operation of the ring can be made smooth.

  The tab can be stopped at the first position and the second position. Thus, the two positions can be completely distinguished and the user simply needs to move the ring to a position where it no longer moves.

  The lever arm may have a window through which the tube passes. Thereby, the lever effect can be improved by using a relatively long lever arm, and thus the ease of use can be further improved.

  The dispensing head can have a mounting area that can be secured to the container, in particular by snapping or screwing. The pump can be fixed in the mounting area, in particular by snapping.

  The lever arm can be connected to the mounting area, in particular by means of hinges using pins. The lever arm can have a first end coupled to the mounting area and an opposite second end forming a seating surface that controls the operation of the pump.

  The present invention also relates to a storage and distribution device equipped with a container for storing a cosmetic product, equipped with the above-described distribution head.

  The device is particularly effective for containing and dispensing cosmetic products, especially creams, foams, gels or sprays.

  In addition to the configurations defined above, the present invention has many other configurations, which will be described below using non-limiting exemplary embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  1 and 2 show an example of a storage and distribution device 1 with a distribution head 30 according to the invention.

  The device 1 includes a container 10 made of, for example, thermoplastic. Obviously, the container may be manufactured from other materials, especially tinplate or aluminum. The container 10 includes a spherical main body 11 having an open neck portion 12 having an axis X, and a pump 20 is mounted on the neck portion. Alternatively, the container may have other shapes, particularly a cylindrical shape.

  Although not shown in detail, the pump 20 shown in particular in FIG. 2 is a standard pump, preferably a pre-compression pump. The pump includes a piston that causes the product to be released under compression by moving in one direction within the pump body and moving the other to cause suction of the product into the pump body. Generally, the piston is held in a position corresponding to the maximum volume of the pumping chamber by a spring. As shown in FIG. 2, the pump has a longitudinal axis X and includes an operating rod 21 that moves in the axial direction to actuate the pump when pressure is applied.

  The pump 20 is, for example, snapped inside the mounting area 60 surrounding it. The mounting area 60 is fixed to the inner surface of the neck portion of the container by, for example, snapping. Alternatively, the mounting area 60 may be screwed to the neck of the container. In particular, as shown in FIG. 2, the upper edge of the mounting area 60 is provided with two indentations at opposite positions, forming indentations 61 and 62, respectively. These functions will be described later. The side of each recess is defined by two edges 61a and 61b and 62a and 62b.

  The diffuser 40 is detachably mounted on the nozzle 21 of the pump. The diffuser 40 includes a sleeve 41 that is directly attached to and detached from the nozzle, and a skirt portion 42 that surrounds the sleeve and is closed at the top by a horizontal wall 43. The diffuser also has a tube 44 that extends along an axis Y that is substantially perpendicular to the axis of the sleeve, which opens at a spray orifice 45. The spray orifice is defined by a nozzle head 46 that is attached to the end of the tube 44. The spray orifice selectively communicates with the interior of the pump via a conduit passing through the tube 44 and the sleeve 41.

  An actuating member 50 in the form of a trigger is provided, and the operation of the pump is controlled by pressing the diffuser 40 and the diffuser itself pressing the operating rod 21.

  The trigger 50 is formed by a bent lever arm that passes over the diffuser 40 and extends to both sides of the mounting area 60. The lever arm has a first portion 51 whose first end 51 a is rotatably attached to the mounting area 60 by a pinned hinge 53. Then, the lever arm has a shape that goes over the diffuser 40 and descends again at the second portion 52 on the opposite side of the mounting area. The second end 52a of the second part forms a surface that can be pushed to rotate the lever arm. The lever arm 50 is relatively long and easy to use so as to obtain an optimum lever effect.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a stud 55 is provided below the first portion 51 of the lever arm so as to rest on the horizontal wall 43 of the diffuser to enable the pump to operate. Further, the second portion 52 of the lever arm is provided with a window portion 54 (see FIG. 3), through which the tube 44 can be passed. Therefore, the lever arm can be extended under the pipe.

  The dispensing head 30 also includes a locking member 70 that prevents accidental operation of the pump. The lock member 70 is formed of a cylindrical ring, and the ring is attached to the mounting area 60 so that it cannot be easily removed from the head. The ring 70 includes a rib 71 designed to be accommodated in a corresponding groove 63 formed in the inner surface of the mounting area on the outer surface thereof, and the ring can be rotated in the mounting area by the rib. It has become. In the illustrated embodiment, the rib 71 is formed from two parts of an arc forming a circle.

  The ring 70 surrounds the diffuser skirt 42 throughout its axial height, and the upper edge 74 of the ring is below the tube 44 in the inoperative position. There is a recess in the upper edge 74 of the ring that forms a notch 73, which allows the tube to be pressed as described below.

  The ring is further provided with two square tabs 72 that extend radially outwardly of the ring, and preferably the two tabs are located in opposite positions on the ring. At the head mounting position, the tabs 72 are received in the recesses 61 and 62 in the mounting area.

  The lock ring 70 moves from a second position where the pump cannot be operated as shown in FIG. 5A to a first position where the pump can be operated for the purpose of dispensing the product contained in the container as shown in FIG. 5B. And can move.

  In the second position, that is, the locked position, the tab 72 contacts the edges 61b and 62b of the recesses 61 and 62, respectively. The notch 73 is not vertically aligned with the tube 44. Thus, the upper edge 74 of the ring is located on the opposite side of the tube. Therefore, when trying to push the lever arm, the tube 44 does not move against the upper edge 74 of the ring.

  To move from the second position to the first position, the tab 72 is grasped and the ring 70 is rotated until the tab 72 contacts the other edges 61a, 62a of the recess. In this second position, corresponding to the use position, the notch 73 is aligned vertically with the tube 44 so that the trigger can be actuated to press the diffuser and push the tube into the notch 73.

  After the pump is activated, the ring can be easily returned to the locked position by moving the tab again until it contacts the first edges 61b and 62b of the recess.

  Accordingly, the lock position and the operation position can be easily distinguished from each other because they correspond to the positions at which the tabs contact one edge of the recess.

  By using two tabs 72 that are diametrically opposite each other on the ring, the ring can be properly gripped and can be easily rotated. Therefore, it is possible to use a tab 72 that is not too large and does not protrude beyond the mounting area 60. Therefore, since the overall size of the ring 70 is limited, the presence of the ring does not interfere when the head is mounted on the container, particularly when the mounting area is snapped onto the neck of the container.

  In the foregoing detailed description, reference has been made to preferred embodiments of the invention, but it is obvious that modifications may be made to such embodiments without departing from the invention as claimed. is there.

1 is a perspective view of a receiving and dispensing device with a dispensing head according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the device of FIG. 2 is a top front view of a dispensing head according to the present invention. FIG. FIG. 3 is a top side view of a dispensing head according to the present invention. FIG. 5A shows the dispensing head in the locked position and FIG. 5B shows the dispensing head in the product dispensing position.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Storage and distribution device 10 Container 12 Neck part 20 Pump 21 Actuation rod 30 Distributing head 40 Diffuser 41 Sleeve 42 Skirt part 43 Horizontal wall 44 Pipe 45 Orifice 50 Lever arm, trigger 51 First part of lever arm 51a First part of lever arm 1 end 52 second part of lever arm 52a second end of lever arm 53 hinge with pin 54 window part 60 mounting area 61, 62 depression 61a, 62a one edge of depression 61b, 62b other edge of depression 63 groove 70 lock Member, Ring 71 Rib 72 Tab 73 Notch 74 Upper edge of the ring

Claims (14)

A pump (20) comprising an actuating rod having a longitudinal axis X and mounted in a container;
A diffuser (40) mounted on the pump, comprising a pipe (44) extending along an axis Y different from the axis X and opening through a distribution orifice (45);
A lever arm (50) having a part (55) that can contact the diffuser and press the diffuser to operate the pump, and that controls the operation of the pump; and-enables the pump to operate in a first position; In a second position, a locking member (70) designed to prevent pump operation by a portion of the locking member contacting and preventing movement of the tube (44).
A dispensing head (30) mounted on the container (10).   A locking member (70) is a ring that at least partially surrounds the diffuser (40), wherein the ring contacts at least one upper edge (44) at the second position of the ring to prevent its movement ( 74) The dispensing head according to claim 1, characterized in that it has 74).   The upper edge (74) of the ring (70) has a recess forming a notch (73), which allows the diffuser to be pushed into a first position of the ring. 2. The dispensing head according to 2.   4. A dispensing head according to claim 3, characterized in that when the ring is in the first position, the tube (44) is located above the ring and is aligned vertically with the notch (73).   Said ring (70) is provided with at least one tab (72) extending radially outwardly of the ring, preferably two tabs (72) in opposite positions on the ring. The dispensing head according to claim 1, characterized in that:   6. A dispensing head according to claim 5, characterized in that the tab can be stopped in the first position and in the second position.   Dispensing head according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the lever arm (50) has a window (54) through which the tube (44) passes.   8. Dispensing head according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it has a mounting area (60) that can be secured to the container.   9. Dispensing head according to claim 8, characterized in that the pump (20) is fixed in the mounting area (60).   10. A dispensing head according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that the lever arm (50) is connected to a mounting area.   The lever arm (50) has a first end (51a) connected to the mounting area (60) and an opposite second end (52a) designed to form a seating surface that controls the operation of the pump. The dispensing head according to claim 10, comprising:   Storage and distribution device (1) comprising a container (10) on which the distribution head (30) according to any one of claims 1 to 11 is mounted.   Device according to claim 12, characterized in that the container contains a cosmetic product.   Use of the device (1) according to claim 12 or 13 for containing and dispensing cosmetic products, in particular cream, foam, gel or spray products.

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